Mysticism and the Margins - (Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Mysticism) by David M Odorisio (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Centering African Diasporic traditions, the margins of mainstream mystical traditions, and the intersection between mysticism and psychedelics, the essays in this volume offer several diverse and unique, contemporary approaches to the study of mysticism. In a time when the word "mystic" or "mysticism" appears as often in popular and even scientific settings as it does in academic or religious discourse, a critical study of these terms and traditions becomes ever more relevant. This volume challenges normative notions of who "counts" as a mystic, and questions the definitions and interpretive frames underlying the field of comparative mysticism itself. This is an important text for students and scholars of comparative mysticism, and those interested in what traditions, texts, communities, rituals, persons, and practices have been marginalized in the development of what "counts" as "mysticism" today.

From the Back Cover

"Mysticism and the Margins breathes new life into the academic study of mysticism and esotericism. The essays gathered here explore historic debates and analytic categories of lineage, authority, authenticity, race and gender in asking who and what counts as legitimate mystical subjects, practices, experiences, ethics, and ontologies. From Spiritualism to psilocybin, hypnosis to hip hop, the diversity of topics represented broaden demographical, theoretical and methodological horizons in the study of mysticism. Dissolving and expanding, disrupting and energizing the established boundaries of the academic study of mysticism, Mysticism and the Margins is a compelling and stimulating contribution." - Ann Gleig, Associate Professor of Religion and Cultural Studies, University of Central Florida

Centering African Diasporic traditions, the margins of mainstream mystical traditions, and the intersection between mysticism and psychedelics, the essays in this volume offer several diverse and unique, contemporary approaches to the study of mysticism. In a time when the word "mystic" or "mysticism" appears as often in popular and even scientific settings as it does in academic or religious discourse, a critical study of these terms and traditions becomes ever more relevant. This volume challenges normative notions of who "counts" as a mystic, and questions the definitions and interpretive frames underlying the field of comparative mysticism itself. This is an important text for students and scholars of comparative mysticism, and those interested in what traditions, texts, communities, rituals, persons, and practices have been marginalized in the development of what "counts" as "mysticism" today..

David M. Odorisio (PhD) is Associate Professor and Chair of the Psychology, Religion, and Consciousness program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA. David is the editor of four volumes, including Thomas Merton in California: The Redwoods Conferences and Letters (Liturgical Press, 2024), and co-editor of Depth Psychology and Mysticism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). David presently serves as the Co-Chair of the Mysticism Unit for the American Academy of Religion.

About the Author

David M. Odorisio (PhD) is Associate Professor and Chair of the Psychology, Religion, and Consciousness program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA. David is the editor of four volumes, including Thomas Merton in California: The Redwoods Conferences and Letters (Liturgical Press, 2024), and co-editor of Depth Psychology and Mysticism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). David presently serves as the Co-Chair of the Mysticism Unit for the American Academy of Religion.